The present invention is directed to an electrically active framework and, more particularly, to an electrified bus bar and an electrical interconnection means which brings power and/or signal to conductive material housed internally in the bus bar.
Today's interior building environment is dominated by fixed lighting and a wide variety of electrical devices that are typically wired for a building's lifetime rather than occupants' changing needs. Building designers and owners increasingly have been seeking systems to make buildings more adaptable and to integrate infrastructure, equipment and furnishings that can improve a building's energy efficiency. Generally speaking, the increasing use of safe, low-voltage direct-current (DC) power and/or signal in interior control and peripheral devices, such as lighting, is a shift aimed at increasing adaptability and energy efficiency.
More specifically, U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0272256, 2007/0103824 and 2008/0087464 are examples of recent attempts to provide unprecedented design and space flexibility along with reduced energy usage via an enabling infrastructure which uses and distributes low-voltage DC power and/or signal. In short, these systems change the manner in which low-voltage direct-current (DC) power and/or signal is distributed to interior controls and devices resulting in an increase in flexibility, efficiency and sustainability of the interior building environment. In these systems, low-voltage DC power and/or signal is distributed and accessible via the conductors disposed on the support grid members of a grid framework. A low-voltage power and/or signal source is then attached to the infrastructure, i.e. the support grid members, via one or more connectors, which, in turn, electrifies the conductors and creates an electrified bus bar.
What is needed is a means to bring electricity to the conductors without creating keep-out zones. A keep out zone is a term used herein to define any point along the continuous conductive path that is unavailable for electrical connection due to interference or other obstruction of the mating surface of the conductors. How to bring power and/or signal to an internal bus bar without creating a keep-out zone has heretofore been unknown.